Greenwood businessman and philanthropist Dr. V.K. Chawla remained in intensive care at Greenwood Leflore Hospital this morning after collapsing on Tuesday.
His son Suresh Chawla said Dr. Chawla went into the hospital on Monday for knee surgery. The younger Chawla said the surgery was successful, but while Dr. Chawla was having rehab at the hospital on Tuesday, he collapsed.
“We thought we had lost him,” Suresh Chawla said. “He had no pulse. It was very traumatic.”
Suresh Chawla said the family wasn’t sure what caused the collapse “but his pacemaker went off, so something did happen to his heart.”
Dr. Chawla was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit this morning.
“He appears to be looking OK,” Suresh Chawla said. “We’ll find out more today.”
Chawla, 78, is the president and owner of Chawla Enterprises Inc. He was born in what is now Pakistan. He received a doctorate in agricultural chemistry in West Germany in 1963. In 1965, he moved to Canada, where he went to work for the Canadian government.
Chawla and his family moved to Greenwood in 1977. His company owns and manages 15 hotels in the Delta.
Since moving to the Delta, Chawla has been a tireless advocate for education. He won the Commonwealth’s Community Service Award in 2008.
“The beauty of living in a small town is the outpouring of support from the community,” Suresh Chawla said. “We’ve gotten hundreds of texts and phone calls.
“We had no idea he was so loved.”
• Contact Charles Corder at 581-7241 or ccorder@gwcommonwealth.com.
